Linux- Gaining Ground
<<Previous
OPEN SOURCE MOVEMENT GAINING GROUND
Initially, in the computing industry, consumers were given programs that
included the hardware and source code. The programmers were happy to share
their source code and add the improvements made to the source code by
others. However, the functioning of the industry changed in the 1970s, with
firms like Microsoft withholding the source code, thus making the software
an element of proprietary business. Microsoft started selling its products
without disclosing the source code.
|
In the 1970s, the computing world was dominated by one
operating system – Disk Operating System (DOS)[6] , though there was also
another operating system provided by Bell Labs - Unix[7]. Initially, Bell
Labs allowed the source code of Unix to be taught in universities, but
later on it guarded it closely.
In 1983, Microsoft introduced its revolutionary operating system –
Windows, which changed the face of the computing world (Refer Exhibit
III). Windows provided a graphical user interface -(GUI) operating
environment for users, enabling them to run applications that used
bitmap displays and mouse pointing devices. Microsoft's Windows source
code was a closely guarded secret. Selling Windows through an excellent
marketing strategy, Microsoft was able to lock in customers to its
operating system. |
|
The new style of software business was opposed by software
enthusiasts and hackers, who felt that proprietary software would result in
less cooperation and slower growth in the industry. This led to the free
software movement in early 1980s. In 1984, Richard Stallman (Stallman),
former programmer at MIT's artificial intelligence lab, developed GNU
software as an open source version of Unix. GNU software became workable in
1985.
In order to prevent GNU software from turning into proprietary software,
Stallman proposed a ‘Copyleft'concept as opposed to copyright. According to
the concept of ‘Copyleft', developers could do whatever they wanted with the
programs; even sell their own versions, as long as they made the source code
available.
With the increasing popularity of GNU software, and with more and more
programmers getting involved in its development, Stallman founded the Free
Software Foundation (FSF) in 1985. FSF was formed mainly to collect funds
for the development of free software; funds given to FSF were exempted from
tax, and this attracted many donors for FSF. FSF also distributed copies of
free software and services, for which it charged a nominal fee.
Along with the GNU operating system, another operating system that was
making waves in the open source community was the MINIX operating system.
Professor Andrew S. Tanenbaum (Tanenbaum), a Dutch professor, developed
MINIX in 1987, as a duplicate of Unix. Though MINIX had some technical
problems, soon programmers from all over the world started working on it to
plug the problems, as its source code was open.
EVOLUTION OF LINUX
THREATENED BY THE PENGUIN
THE FUTURE OF LINUX AND THE OPEN SOURCE MOVEMENT
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
EXHIBIT II - TIME LINE OF LINUX
EXHIBIT III - EVOLUTION OF WINDOWS contd...
EXHIBIT IV - COMPARISON OF LINUX AND WINDOWS
ADDITIONAL READINGS & REFERENCES
[6] A proprietary program that controls all the basic
operations of a computer.
[7] Unix
is operating system written in the C language.
2010, ICMR (IBS Center for Management Research).All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted
in any form or by any means - electronic or mechanical, without permission.
To order copies, call +91- 8417- 236667 or write to ICMR,
Survey No. 156/157, Dontanapalli Village, Shankerpalli Mandal,
Ranga Reddy District,
Hyderabad-501504.
Andhra Pradesh, INDIA.
Ph: +91- 8417- 236667,
Fax: +91- 8417- 236668
E-mail: info@icmrindia.org
Website: www.icmrindia.org
|
More Classifications...